Twixt Land and Sea by Joseph Conrad
page 26 of 268 (09%)
page 26 of 268 (09%)
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subject passively. After a time he unglued his thick lips to ask
me if I had seen his brother yet. I was very curt in my answer. "No, not yet." "A very different person," he remarked dreamily and got up. His movements were particularly noiseless. "Well--thank you, Captain. If anything is not to your liking please mention it to your steward. I suppose you will be giving a dinner to the office- clerks presently." "What for?" I cried with some warmth. "If I were a steady trader to the port I could understand it. But a complete stranger! . . . I may not turn up again here for years. I don't see why! . . . Do you mean to say it is customary?" "It will be expected from a man like you," he breathed out placidly. "Eight of the principal clerks, the manager, that's nine, you three gentlemen, that's twelve. It needn't be very expensive. If you tell your steward to give me a day's notice--" "It will be expected of me! Why should it be expected of me? Is it because I look particularly soft--or what? His immobility struck me as dignified suddenly, his imperturbable quality as dangerous. "There's plenty of time to think about that," I concluded weakly with a gesture that tried to wave him away. But before he departed he took time to mention regretfully that he had not yet had the pleasure of seeing me at his "store" to sample those cigars. He had a parcel of six thousand to dispose |
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